


Teen Wolf, Season 1, Episode 4, Magic Bullet

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s01e04 Magic Bullet, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 01, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 16:12:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16043951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for both the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.





	Teen Wolf, Season 1, Episode 4, Magic Bullet

Open to Kate Argent driving during the night. Ironically, despite being a villain, she’s the best parental figure Allison will have. However, despite this, I’m also willing to bet Allison gets her bad driving from Kate, though, it should be noted, driving skills have nothing to do with either of their hero/villain status.

Case in point: Kate does everything but pay attention to the road in this scene.

Hilariously, during Kate’s jamming out session, alpha Peter is running right alongside the car with red eyes glowing. All she’d have to do is turn her head to see.

Finally, she starts to sense something and almost collides with another car. “Nice driving, Kate,” she mutters.

Peter attacks, but grabbing a gun, Kate shoots, rolls out of her car, and yells, “Come on,” as she shoots again.

During some of this, there’s rain water on the windows, but it’s not raining outside. Mirrorverse?

On another note, Kate is one of those villains I consider evil, won’t try to justify or downplay her actions, and don’t consider even slightly sympathetic, and yet, I admit to loving watching her. In a horrible, indefensible way, she is awesome.

After the credits, Scott is woken by a howl/growl/roar, Kate has a literal arsenal in the trunk of her car, and Allison gets out of bed to find Chris leaving. It’s established to be two-something in the morning. Telling her Kate texted him about having a flat tire, he assures her everything’s fine and urges her to go back to bed.

Meanwhile, Derek is examining blood. He spots the alpha, and good going, Peter: Derek ends up being shot by Kate.

The horrible irony is, even after the monstrous thing she did to him in the past, he was still, in a way, trying to protect her. I’m not sure if her safety was explicitly on his mind, but by taking out Peter now, she would have been safe.

Chris shows up, and hidden, Derek tries to move despite his injuries.

It’s made clear Chris and Kate don’t get along, and at Kate’s sarcastic calling out of his lack of greeting, he answers, “All I’ve got at the moment is: Please, put the assault rifle away before someone notices.”

I’d say he was justified, but given he eventually shoots an object his daughter was holding out of her hands and repeatedly points guns at several other teenagers, including actually clipping one, this falls flat.

Scott has shown up, and I’m not sure if either he or Derek wasn’t really present. If they both were, I’d expect him to eventually ask why Derek didn’t alert him to Derek’s presence, but maybe it's a simple case of neither of them sensing the other and only finding out later they were both there.

Hidden, he listens to Kate tell Chris there were two and that one of them tried to kill her. Chris insists they need one of the werewolves to lead them to the other, and Kate makes the good point she can’t help if she’s dead.

It’s established the one she hit should be dead in forty-eight hours or less.

When the Argents leave, Derek looks at the glowing blue bullet embedded in his arm.

One thing I don’t understand about this episode is why Derek doesn’t try using pliers or something to dig/pull the bullet out.

In the morning, Allison and Kate excitedly greet one another, and complimenting Allison’s beauty, she expresses her hope Allison is a heartbreaker. Allison admits to kind of having a boyfriend.

Then, she tries to help Kate unpack, but being physically rougher than she intended, Kate stops Allison. She manages to navigate out of the awkward moment rather quickly, but then, she further piques Allison’s suspicions by claiming her car needed a jumpstart.

She does deliberately do things in later episodes in order to get Allison to question things, but I don’t think this is one of those times. Chris and Kate really should have gotten their story straight before Kate talked to Allison, though.

At school, Scott receives a bad grade on one of his papers.

I remember, when the show started, some people thought Scott was dumb, and this always surprised me. Scott can be clueless, make idiotic decisions, and he isn’t as book smart as Stiles and Lydia, but it was clearly established in the first episode he’s a clever character.

Stiles offers to study together, and when Scott announces he’s studying with Allison, Stiles is thrilled. He declares, no, the two won’t be strictly studying, and he will declaw Scott if only studying happens. Heh.

Stiles also promises he won’t talk about the alpha, “Or Derek. Especially Derek. Who still scares me.”

Speaking of, the visibly sick man who was recently arrested for murder and isn’t affiliated with the school is trudging around the school in plain sight.

I’m not sure how much of this I buy.

If Derek were in top form and moving confidently through the hallways, I could buy no one stopped to register his presence, but he all but has a flashing, ‘Do not belong,’ sign floating behind him.

Coming across Jackson, he asks, “Where’s Scott McCall?”

Why would he think Jackson would know? Even if he knows about the double date, it wouldn’t mean Jackson’s going to pay attention to where Scott is every minute of the day.

Jackson thinks Derek is Scott’s dealer, and realising Jackson is talking about steroids but too sick to bother, Derek declares, “I’ll find him myself.” Jackson tries to physically stop him, and slamming Jackson against a locker, he accidentally claws him in the neck before wandering off.

Did Derek really claw Jackson, or was this made up to explain some of the later scenes where Peter exerts some form of control over Jackson without answering certain questions Scott didn’t want brought up?

I tend to think this did happen, but if Jackson was intended to be a Hale but Scott didn’t want anyone who could challenge Malia’s claim as the sole Hale heir- The main thing against this, though, is there were plans for Jackson that were stowed when Haynes left, and Malia was created partly as a response to losing both Gage Golightly and Adelaide Kane.

Finding a corner and showing further determination to get himself noticed, he uses his werewolf hearing and hones in on Allison and Lydia. Allison is excited but nervous about her study date, and Lydia’s still annoying, but she does do good by making it clear, if anything besides studying happens, Allison is to make sure a condom is utilised. Then, she suggests Allison give Scott a taste, and Allison is both excited and hesitant at such an idea. In response, Lydia uses big, science-y words to declare Allison is really into Scott.

The bell rings, and Derek almost collapses.

It turns out it was the ending bell. Stiles starts to leave, but appearing in front of Roscoe, Derek collapses.

No one but Scott and Stiles come over to check on him? No one says anything about getting him help? Full disclosure: I probably wouldn’t approach a big guy with a scary aura like Derek, either, but I would be calling the police/trying to find help.

Scott comes over from his bike, Stiles gets out, and Scott realises Derek was the one Kate shot. Derek starts involuntarily wolfing out.

As the people behind Stiles get more and more impatient, the two get Derek into the jeep. After informing them the shooter’s an Argent, Derek orders Scott to find out what kind of bullet they used.

“Why should I help you?”

Derek’s response is, “Because, you need me.”

Seeing Allison is about to approach, Scott quickly agrees and tells Stiles to get Derek out ASAP.

Allison asks what Derek was doing here. She brings up Scott telling her he and Derek weren’t friends. Kissing her cheek and promising to meet her at her place, he rushes off.

Then, he manages to get to the Argent house at the same time Allison does. He’s nervous and babble-y, and she asks why he’s acting so bizarre. He claims it’s due to not doing so well in school, although, he uses the grammatically incorrect “good”, and she corrects him. He’s hesitant to come inside, but she coaxes him in.

Upstairs, her room still hasn’t been fully realised. She kisses him, they start getting hot and heavy, and this leads to him having some transformation issues.

Next, Stiles sends a text.

Scott sends one back saying he needs more time to find the bullet.

Meanwhile, Stiles is annoyed with Derek’s twitchy behaviour. Upon learning Stiles is taking him to the Hale house, Derek tells him not to, because, he can’t protect himself there.

Pulling over, Stiles demands, “What happens if Scott doesn’t find your little magic bullet? Hmm? Are you dying?”

These are good questions, but I still want to know if prying the bullet out could work.

“I, uh, I have a last resort,” Derek answers.

“What do you mean? What last resort,” Stiles panically demands.

Revealing the wound doesn’t help, and Stiles refuses to start the car. “I could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead.”

Derek knows Stiles probably could. Yet, he still tries to use intimidation, “Start the car, or I’m gonna rip your throat out- with my teeth.”

Stiles complies, but neither is impressed with the threat.

Back at the Argent household, Scott turns off his phone. He discovers a picture of Kate and Chris. Kate has a genuine smile, but Chris has forced, closed one.

Allison explains who Kate is, exposits Kate used to live in Beacon Hills, and then, they go through some of Allison’s past interests. She tried photography, drawing, and poetry, and from the looks of the painting and photography, she was good, though, she insists otherwise.

They go to the garage, and scaring him with a high-tech bow, she reveals she’s into archery. She assures him it needs an arrow to be dangerous. He sees a load of guns locked up behind wire cabinets, and she says, “We’re not some sort of separatist, gun nut family. My dad sells firearms to law enforcement.”

He asks if she’s planning on joining the family business. She’s not sure, and they start making out. Hearing someone come in, they hide behind a car and are immediately found by Chris. Heh. This is such a teenager thing for them to do.

Awesomely, Kate yells from somewhere, “Hey, Chris, get your ass out of the fifties and come help with the groceries!”

“You two mind helping,” Chris inquires of the lovebirds. Hee.

It’s now night out, and finishing helping with the groceries, Scott gets a text from Stiles about Derek not getting better. He starts to ask if Allison wants to continue studying, but Chris tries to shoo him away. Kate, however, orders Chris to lighten up since they were just making out as opposed to shooting amateur porn.

Why do I get the feeling it’s the amateur part she’d have the most objection to?

She insists on Scott staying for dinner.

She and Allison go inside, and Chris asks if Scott eats meat. Answering in the affirmative, Scott tentatively asks if Chris minds. Putting his arm around Scott, Chris answers no, this will give him a chance to get to know Scott better.

Thus is the start of awkward Argent family dinners.

Victoria asks if Scott would like something other than water to drink, and he politely declines. Chris offers beer, and then, a shot of tequila. Scott responds he’s not old enough to drink, and Victoria isn’t incorrect when she counters this doesn’t stop many teenagers. Scott says it should, and Kate is impressed with how well he gives the expected answer despite not believing it.

“Do you smoke pot,” Chris asks.

Scott spits up his water, Allison silently wishes for everyone but Scott and possibly her aunt to die a horrible death, and Kate declares, “Okay, changing the channel to something less conservative.”

She asks him to explain lacrosse, and as someone who knew nothing about lacrosse until I started watching this show, his explanation of it as like hockey minus the ice actually helps me some. Of course, I don’t know much about hockey, either, but I know more about it than I do lacrosse.

Chris doesn’t endear himself to anyone, with the possible exception of Victoria, by declaring hockey minus the ice is called field hockey.

Kate likes the violence of the sport, and Allison brags about Scott’s skill. Chris tries to downplay it.

Realising how well Allison isn’t taking things, Scott holds her hand under the table and makes a joke about accepting the shot of tequila. Aw.

Everyone laughs, and then, Chris asks, “You were kidding, right?”

“Yeah,” Scott breathes out.

Later, Stiles and Derek are still in Roscoe, and Stiles talks to Scott via phone.

Scott is in a hallway. Suggesting Stiles take Derek to the clinic, he gives directions on how to get in.

Stiles gives the phone to Derek, and Scott reiterates his belief Derek dying might not be a bad thing. Derek counters Scott needs him in order to deal with the alpha.

They hang up, and Scott tries to go into a room but sets off an alarm. Appearing out of nowhere, Kate comments, “You look like a lost puppy.”

The show did this thing where it kind of implied both Chris and Kate both knew about Scott, but I don’t buy Kate did. Chris suspected, but I don’t believe he let Kate know about his suspicions. So far, Scott hasn’t done anything to make Kate suspicious.

He claims to be looking for the bathroom, and not seeming to believe him, she nevertheless points him in the right direction. Interestingly, she subtly forces him into the guest bedroom/her room when the house obviously has more than one bathroom.

I’m going with: She didn’t suspect Scott, but she was testing her niece’s new boyfriend on other things.

Finding the case of bullets, he uses his phone to translates the label on the box.

At the vet, the dogs bark in the background, and Derek sinks down onto some stuff. Both the makeup and Hoechlin’s acting really sell how bad Derek is. It turns out the bullets are made of a rare form of wolfsbane, and he announces he’ll die if Scott doesn’t get the bullet.

Back at the Argent’s, Scott is ordered to stay for dessert. They talk about his job at the vet, and it really seems as if all the adults, including Victoria, are giving coded warnings about how they know and will hurt him if he gives them reason.

I could buy Chris shared his suspicions with Victoria, but I’m not sure she’d be so accommodating of Scott if he had.

At the vet, Derek half-pushes, half-uses Stiles as a human guide into the back area. Stripping off his shirt, he says, if Scott doesn’t arrive in time, Stiles will need to cut off his arm. I think this is the first time his Triskelion tattoo is shown, but I could be wrong.

And last time, I promise, but: Could getting pliers or a knife or something along those lines and digging/prying/cutting it out work? Why is this not even discussed once?

Meanwhile, Scott is getting ready to leave, and Allison apologises for the awkward dinner. Scott assures her it’s fine.

Kate and Chris appear, and Kate accuses Scott of taking something from her bag.

Claiming she was the one who took something, Allison holds up a condom.

Shocked and awed, Scott is falling even deeper in love.

Although, even if Allison did take it from Kate’s stuff, Kate is still going to discover the missing bullet, later.

Leaving, Scott pauses in the driveway and gets the cutest, in love smile on his face.

There are no such smiles at the vet where Derek wraps a pressure-cutter string around his arm. Stiles voices the difficulties he might have with this.

“You faint at the sight of blood?”

I like the tone Derek uses here. It’s exasperated but also accepting. He doesn’t have a problem believing this of Stiles, and nor does he seem to view it as a character flaw, just as one more obstacle pushing him closer to death.

“No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!”

Derek threatens to cut off Stiles’s head if Stiles doesn’t cut off his arm, and Stiles doesn’t buy it. Grabbing Stiles, Derek moves so forward so his mouth is close to Stiles’s neck.

This probably has more to do with wolf behaviour than anything, but Stiles is likely remembering the teeth threat and realising a dying man might be crazy enough to try it. He agrees, and interestingly exposing his own neck, Derek turns his own head to throw up black blood.

Starting to do it, Stiles is incredibly relieved when Scott shows up.

Taking the bullet from Scott, Derek faints before anyone can do anything. The bullet rolls into a ground vent. Scott uses his claws to retrieve it, and trying to get Derek to wake up, Stiles begs him not to die. Then, “Please, don’t kill me for this.” He punches Derek.

This causes Derek to regain consciousness.

The resolution is Derek burning the stuff inside the bullet and putting the ashes on the wound. This somehow makes him all better.

Stiles is exuberant and optimistic about Derek’s use of sarcasm. Derek just glares.

Ordering Derek to leave them alone, Scott threatens to tell the Argents if Derek doesn’t. “They’re a lot freaking nicer than you are.”

“I can show you exactly how nice they are,” is Derek’s dark response.

Leaving Stiles, they go to a long-term care facility. Peter Hale in human form is introduced sitting comatose in a wheelchair.

Derek explains Peter used to be a werewolf. “Six years ago, my sister and I were at school. Our house caught fire. Eleven people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor.”

There’s Peter, Cora, and possibly one unknown character. I’ve read there have been implications only eight people died.

Scott’s question about what makes Derek so sure the Argents set the fire is reasonable, and it’s also understandable Derek wouldn’t bring up how he knows for sure: Kate.

Instead, he answers they were the only ones who knew about the Hales being werewolves.

“Then, they had a reason.”

This is one time when I’d excuse Derek’s violence. On one level, him beating the stuffing out of Scott would be wrong, but on the other, for me personally, it’d be extremely satisfying.

Scott just said it’s acceptable to burn people alive. Moreover, he just said Derek’s parents, his siblings, and his other family members, including possible children, deserved such a thing. He just said Derek and Laura deserved this happening to their loved ones.

I’m actually impressed with how Derek does handle this, because, he doesn’t resort to any violence.

“Like what? You tell me what justifies this.” He turns Peter’s chair around to fully reveal the scarred face to Scott. “They say they’ll only kill an adult, and only with absolute proof. But there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire.”

Appearing, Nurse Jennifer shoos them out. I subscribe to the theory she’s Julia Baccari aka Teacher Jennifer Blake.

At the Argent house, Allison sneaks outside to call Scott. Leaving a voicemail, she apologises for all the awkwardness. Then, she realises something is off about Kate’s car.

In the living room, Chris and Kate realise Kate probably shot Derek. Kate posits there might be more than just two. Chris says, if Derek’s still alive, they’ll use him to find the alpha. Then, he stresses they follow the code.

Kate has started a fire in the fireplace, and after verbally eye-rolling said code, she responds, “Of course. I always play by the rules,” with a wink.

Fin.


End file.
